


Plotting & Planning

by afteriwake, cae_prince



Category: CSI: NY
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-18
Updated: 2012-09-18
Packaged: 2017-11-14 12:30:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/515257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake, https://archiveofourown.org/users/cae_prince/pseuds/cae_prince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All they want is a Halloween Party at the labs. What starts out as a not-so-simple task to start with gets a lot more complicated...and a lot more fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a round robin at **smack_ficathon** that afteriwake started that just kind of...died. She was allowed to finish it and thus part 4 is written entirely by her. This is a definite AU, with both Aiden and Lindsay as well as Chad and Adam working at the same time.

Stella was walking into the break room with Adam and Chad both in tow, discussing the results of each of their tests, when she stopped. Danny was bent over one of the tables, his head in his hands, looking for all the world like he wanted the hell out of the labs.

"Problem?" Stella asked. She would probably find out anyway, eventually, but it was always better to hear it from the horse's mouth than to et it second or third-hand.

"Yeah, you don't look so good," Chad commented.

"Sick or something?" Adam interjected.

Danny dropped his hands and looked at the three of them. "Breathe a word of this to anyone else and I swear, I'll quit talking to any of you about anything."

"Must be serious," Stella said, moving to the chair next to him. "And personal?" she ventured.

"Yeah. Personal." He sighed. "Apparently, both Aiden and Lindsay have got it in their heads that they both want to date me...why Aiden's changing her mind after all these years, I don't know. And they want an answer _soon_ over which one it'll be."

"Lindsay," Chad said immediately.

"Aiden," Adam answered.

Danny groaned and turned to Stella. "You're the one dating the boss. You have any suggestions on how I should handle this?"

Stella smiled and clapped Danny's shoulder. "You just got your answer. I'm dating the boss. Singular. Now, if, say, Mitford were in on this--"

"That's disgusting," Danny cut in.

"If he were in on this," Stella repeated smoothly, "I'd have a real answer for you."

"Anything," Danny pleaded. "I'll take anything. Just to get them off my back for at least another day."

"Try dating them both." Chad shrugged. "It's what I would do."

Danny made a face. "Yeah, Chad. That sounds like your style. Always thought you were saving a place for Aiden, not Lindsay, too."

"I like Lindsay, but then again, so does Marty," Adam pointed out.

"And then there's always Flack having a thing for Aiden," Chad mused.

"So what the boys are saying," Stella said, looking pointedly at the two techs, "is that if you don't make a decision, either the women will make it for you, or you won't get a chance with either of them."

"Great. Just what I wanted to hear." He stood up and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Stell...get them to give me a day. Tell Mac I'll work more hours if that's what it takes for me to have to avoid this. I'll do about _anything_ right now."

Stella raised an eyebrow. "Anything? Like help me with something for Mac?"

"Something like what?" Danny asked warily.

Stella quirked an eyebrow and grinned, "Its just that Halloween is round the corner. And I want you to help me convince him into letting us throw a Halloween costume party."

Danny looked at her in disbelief.

"Nah, nah," he shook his head. "Won't work. He'll probably just bite my head off and..."

"Alright, in that case, have fun with Aiden and Lindsay, _concurrently_." She moved as though to leave the lab.

Adam and Chad watched excitedly. The prospect of a Halloween Costume party appealed to them. "Agree with her. Agree with her," Chad chanted under his breath.

Danny rolled his eyes and sighed, "Alright, alright! What d'you have in mind?"

"Contest. Between all of us, CSIs and Homicide detectives attached to the lab. And have it here at work, at a time when it's really just us. And yeah, we can agree to make it short, I already know Mac's going to argue that point."

"It's not like the rest of us can't bring food earlier and we can all snack throughout the day," Adam pointed out.

"So how are we going to get him to agree?" Chad asked Stella.

She raised an eyebrow. "We? I thought it was just going to be me and Danny."

"You're crazy if you don't think we want this party to happen, too," Adam said. "If you want our help, you've got it."

"But you better hold up your end of the offer," Danny pointed out, looking at Stella. "At least a day. More time so I can figure this out, more energetic I'll be about getting this party off the ground."

"You better at least start out energetic, Danny, or the deal's off."

"If it'll save me from having two women hate me for a while, you know damn well I'll be energetic about this."

Stella smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "I'll keep my end of the deal for as long as you try to get Mac to have this party."

"And if you don't get him to," Adam added, "Chad and I will personally send fake love notes to Aiden and Lindsay from you."

Danny's jaw dropped open. "No...hey... Mac's tough, I can't promise anything!"

"If you can bribe him into letting us bring food, I'm happy enough." Chad smiled. "If you get Mac to wear a costume, I'll take Aiden off your hands, if you know what I mean."

Stella reached over and smacked Chad upside the head. "No. I get to take care of the girls. I leave it in your hands, you'll foul things up worse than they are."

"Foul what things up worse than they are?" Flack asked as he came in. He was the only person Danny had told about the situation with the women.

"I think I made a deal with the devil to get my problem sorted out," Danny said, glancing over at Stella. "She wants a costume party. I have to help convince Mac."

Flack chuckled slightly. "Good luck in that."

"Oh, I was thinking of roping you into it, too," Stella said.

"Me? No. I don't think so. I like my job just fine, thanks."

"You help us out, I'll help you out," Danny said.

"How?"

"I'll enter that basketball competition with you, the one you keep trying to get me to enter every year. It's, what, next week?"

Flack gave him a look. "You're serious?" He took a look at Danny's face, and then grinned. "I have witnesses to this. I'm in. So...what's the gameplan?"

Stella looked at Danny, her eyebrows raised. "Enlighten us. And it better be a good plan."

"I only made the deal a few minutes ago! I can't have something planned alrea--" He broke off suddenly, smiling. "Hey, Flack, remember the time I showed Aiden that picture of you--"

Flack's face fell. "I thought we weren't talking about that."

"Oh, yeah..." Danny frowned. "Anyway... Stella, you have anything we could...possibly use to blackmail Mac?"

Chad grinned behind Stella. "I'm not helping you blackmail Mac," she answered, crossing her arms. "Not unless you can swear it'll work."

"Mac's only human; he has to get embarrassed." Danny grinned. "Please tell me you have something."

Stella looked agonized for a second. "Maybe... But Danny, I'm _dating_ him. And he's our boss. Keep that in mind. I don't want to lose him _or_ my job."

Flack raised an eyebrow. "You and Mac...it's pretty serious?"

"Yeah," Stella said. "Serious."

Danny sighed. "Fine, fine. We won't ask for blackmail from you. Anyone else have something?"

The three men shook their heads. "You ever thought of just having Stella get everyone else to agree to help out, and we all bum rush him?" Flack suggested.

"Like who?" Stella asked.

"I don't know...Aiden, Lindsay, Hawkes, Marty, Zao, Jane...maybe Maka would agree to help too, though Lord knows she won't be wearing a costume."

Chad snickered slightly. "That's Maka...prim and proper to the end."

"Hey, there's an idea for you, Danny," Adam said. Danny looked at him. "Date Maka instead of Aiden or Lindsay. You two have a...thing...you know?"

Danny laughed. "Oh, yeah. I can just see that happening. Aiden and Lindsay would hate me, and that would only happen if Kaile said yes without laughing in my face."

"Kaile?" Stella asked, raising her eyebrow again. "Since when are you two on a first name basis?"

"When she's not at work or we're at Sullivan's."

Stella smiled, her eyebrows still raised in disbelief. "Maybe Adam's right."

"Hey." Danny raised his hands slightly as though to push Stella away. His shoulders raised up around his ears almost defensively. "It's a friendship thing, alright? Just going out for some drinks. Like I said, she'd _laugh_ if I asked her out."

"Still rooting for Lindsay," Chad said quietly in the back. At Danny's glare, he changed the topic. "If the entire lab is trying for this, I bet Mac would give in. Just spread the news."

"Can't think of a single person who wouldn't be interested," Adam added.

"It's just a matter of persuading Mac he won't get into trouble for this." Stella smiled. "That's where it boils down to you, Danny. You find a way to get that across to him, I'll keep the girls off your back." Danny sighed. "If you can do it soon, I'll keep them away for a week," Stella promised.

"A week?"

Stella nodded. "A week."

"Okay. But seriously, we need to spread the word _and keep Mac from finding out_ ," he said, adding emphasis to the last part of his sentence. "And I want to state this: I am _not_ going to be the only one there to convince him. We all need to do it or he's not going to believe we want this to happen."

"When would be a good time?" Flack asked.

"For the ambush or the party?" Adam asked.

"Both."

"Ambush...maybe in a week?" Danny ventured. "As for the party, so long as the CSIs and the detectives know to wear costumes they can easily change out of if there's a call, maybe ten to eleven thirty?"

"I like the way you think, Messer," Stella said with a wink. "So who's going to recruit who? I can handle Aiden and Monroe."

"I see Maka every coupla nights, so I can get her in on this," Danny said. Adam coughed "Kaile" under his breath and Danny glared.

"We can get Jane," Chad said.

"Guess that leaves me with the coroners," Flack said. "Though I want it stated, for the record, that I hate going to the morgue."

"Might as well just invite them for drinks," Danny said. "The rest of us can do the same and we'll broach the idea to them all at once."

"When?" Stella asked.

"Everyone free tonight?" They all nodded. "Good. Whoever can't make it tonight we'll hit tomorrow."

"You make it sound like you want to ambush them rather than Mac," Chad joked. 

"If any of them don't agree to the idea, I will." Danny crossed his arms grimly. "Now that Stella's mentioned the idea, I can't drop it."

Adam nodded. "Yeah. I'll have to find a costume. Haven't so much as handed out candy since I realized no kids live in the apartment, and I end up eating it all by myself."

"Don't invite Jane over, do you?" Chad asked, earning himself a harsh elbowing from Adam. "Alright, alright. I get it. You prefer Mac. OW!" he hissed when Adam elbowed him more viciously.

"Jane's enough of a talker to get the rest of DNA over," Adam said, still glaring at Chad, who smiled at the mention of Jane. "Where're we meeting?"

"Everyone knows where Sullivan's is, right?" Stella looked around them all, seeing the nods.

"Everyone goes there almost every week," Flack pointed out. "Easy enough to pass it off as one of those things."

"I think telling them we're conspiring against the boss is already going to get them," Chad pointed out. He held up his hands in defeat to Adam. "Not offending Mac, I swear."

Adam ignored him. "Just make sure not a word of this gets to Mac."

"Oh, I may not be willing to part with information to blackmail Mac," Stella said with a slightly wicked grin, "but I have enough dirt on just about everyone _else_..."

The men looked at her with expressions tinged in awe and fear. "You scare me sometimes, Stell," Flack said.

"I know. That's the point." She thought for a minute. "If I can drag Mac out on a date tonight, far away from Sullivan's, think that will help?"

"I think that'd be perfect," Danny said with a grin. "That way he wouldn't find out what we're up to because he'd be too busy with you." Surprisingly, Stella blushed a little. "Am I seeing this right? Are you _blushing_ , Bonasera?"

"Make one more comment, _Messer_ , and I'll join Chad and Adam with the love notes thing."

Danny paled immediately and backed down. "Alright, alright. Won't mention that _blush_ of yours anymore every time we mention Mac."

"Dear Lindsay..." Stella recited.

"I love you," Chad started, smiling. 

"We should meet at Sullivan's for a few drinks and at my place after, if you know what I mean," Adam finished.

"Where Mac and Stella are," Danny cut in.

Stella raised her eyes menacingly. "Dear Aiden... Go ask Lindsay what plans I have with her, since the same applies to you." She put her hands on her hips. "That enough reason to stop, Messer? I can think of a hundred things to put in that letter, none of which are flattering."

"All I said was you were blushing, Stella!" Flack laughed, and Danny turned on him. "You think about helping them and I got some dirt on you that'll have them rolling in the aisles, _Don_ ," Danny said pointedly.

Flack started to protest, but Stella cut him off. "All right, enough, enough. We don't work together on this, we aren't going to get it."

"Get what?"

The five of them whipped around and saw Hawkes standing there. Stella smiled. "One less person we have to track down..."

"You guys should lower your voices," Hawkes warned. "I could hear those fake love notes you guys were composing, and I swear I just saw Aiden marching off towards the lab where Lindsay was. She did not look happy."

The four men exchanged glances with each other. "Oh, shit," Adam muttered. "This is not good, Stella. You know how Aiden gets when she's pissed."

"I still think I have a bruise from when she punched me in the shoulder," Flack muttered, rubbing his shoulder slightly. "And that was a week ago."

"Let's not forget Lindsay's tough, too," Chad pointed out.

Danny looked between Stella and Hawkes. He finally settled on Stella, looking more desperate than he had before. "Stella... Please just get them off my back now. I _swear_ I'll find a way to get Mac to allow this, even if it means I have to tie him up in a closet. I'll get him in a Barney suit, anything. I'll force him to kiss you in the A/V labs if I have to--"

"Alright, alright." Stella smirked. "I'll go deal with them. You're not going to keep them off you for long, and I'm not taking credit for notes they leave in your locker."

Danny nodded. "Alright, I'll take the notes. Just please--"

Stella smiled. "I'm on it already." She turned, smiled at Hawkes, and left.

Hawkes took a step forward. "So... What's all this about Aiden and Mac and Barney?"

"Danny made a deal with the devil." Chad smirked. "He's getting Stella to keep Lindsay and Aiden off him for a while if he can get Mac to have a Halloween party in the lab for a little while."

"Lindsay and--" Hawkes repeated, frowning.

"They're fighting over him," Adam explained.

"Ah," Hawkes said calmly, though the amused glint in his eye very much matched Flack's.

"Anyway," Chad said. "We're going to ambush Mac into doing it. You have plans for tonight?"

"None that I can't put off."

"Sullivan's. Eight," Danny said. He thought for a moment. "You're tight with Zao and Marty, right? Save Flack a trip to the morgue and ask them to join us."

"This is if I want this party to happen." The four men stared at Hawkes, who started to grin.

"I knew there was a party animal inside you, Hawkes," Flack said with a grin. "Look, I owe you one for saving me the trip to the morgue. That place...it creeps me out."

Hawkes faked an offended look. "The morgue isn't that bad, Flack. It's...it's like a second home to some of us."

"Hate to imagine the first one, then," Flack muttered, but Hawkes only smiled.

"You get used to the smell," he answered, clapping a hand on Flack's shoulder. "Not that bad after a while." He turned back to the group. "Should I grab the whole morgue? I'm sure they'd be amused by this. We're awfully good at...corpse makeup."

Flack shuddered.

"Bring anyone," Danny answered. "The more the merrier, as long as I'm not paying for their drinks."

"Dear Lindsay," Chad whispered under his breath, earning himself a third elbow from Adam.

"I can bring more of the homicide cops attached with the labs," Flack said, ignoring Chad. "I mean, there's more than me and Maka."

"That works. But I'm still not paying for drinks," Danny said. "Everyone pays their own tabs."

"But you'll pay ours?" Adam asked.

Danny sighed. "So long as I have your promise not to write any stupid love notes to any female at the labs, yeah."

Flack smirked. "You left out Maka, Danny. She doesn't work at the labs."

"She...oh, crap." He saw the amused look on Hawkes face. "You see the trouble I'm in?"

Before Hawkes could reply, Stella popped her head in. "Hey, Flack? I think I need you to go take Aiden out for lunch or something. Things got pretty ugly in there. _Apparently_ , she overheard the 'letter' we were composing and she thought he'd really written it." A genuine look of sympathy crossed her face as she looked at him. "I'm really sorry, Danny."

"Shit," Danny muttered. "I knew nothing good would come out of this." All the people assembled in the room turned to glare at him. "Wow, I'll be..." Danny murmured. Out loud he said, "Flack, please, just divert Aiden for me. I'll go in and pacify Lindsay."

Chad let out a snort at that. "And how is he gonna divert her?"

Adam rolled his eyes, elbowing Chad again. "Get your mind out of that gutter, you dolt."

Chad rubbed his side, looking morosely at Adam, "I'm gonna have a permanent bruise here."

Adam elbowed him once more, "One more word, I'll get Aiden to do the elbowing." Off his disbelieving look he added, "Believe me, I have my ways. And given Aiden's current mood, it should not take much to get her to inflict physical harm." He lowered his voice. "Something that Danny seems to be in imminent danger of."

Flack, getting tired of hearing the pointless banter, said to Danny, "I'll take her to lunch, like Stella suggested. You and Stella go handle Monroe."

Danny looked hopefully at Stella, "Really, you'll come with me?"

Stella smirked, "Of course, I wouldn't want to miss this for the world! The Messer-Monroe-Burn Debacle is always worth a watch."

Danny groaned.

"I hear ranting in my labs, and three CSIs, two techs and a detective in the break room," a male voice said from the doorway. "Does anyone need more work to do?"

Everyone else groaned slightly, but Stella smiled. "Mac...no, we're about done with business here."

"And this business would be?" Mac asked, raising an eyebrow. He walked into the break room as Adam and Chad slunk out behind him.

"Saving Danny's neck," Hawkes offered, looking at Mac as though none of them were plotting to ambush him for a Halloween party. "That, and some actual casework; I have DNA results I needed to share with you."

"Why didn't you bring them to my office?"

Hawkes pulled a protein bar out of his pocket. "Needed a pick-me-up."

Mac nodded, then looked at the other three. "And you three?"

"Remember that ranting you heard? We're going to take care of it, then Danny and I are getting back to work on our case," Stella said. "You don't have to worry over this one." She grinned a little wider and a smile reluctantly crossed Mac's face. She got up and pushed Danny and Flack to the door, were Hawkes had already headed.

Once the guys were out, Mac said in a quietly interested voice, "Stella? Wait a minute."

Stella turned back to Mac, her eyebrows raised. It was amusing, looking at him with a straight face when he was so lost about what was going on in his labs. "Yeah?"

"What's going on?"

"Just Danny and some girls having a bit of an... argument." Stella smiled. "I think they're going to get over it soon, though."

Mac looked out the door, though the group was already long gone. "Lindsay and Aiden, right? Is Maka in this?"

"Good job. First try. Hear them that well?"

"It's hard to miss Aiden's voice," Mac admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know there has to be more than that--"

"Mac." Stella touched his elbow, smiling. "Nothing's going on. Just Danny being himself." She remembered the plans for that night and her need to distract Mac. "But I have something to ask you."

"Hmm?"

"Care to head out to a restaurant tonight?" Stella smiled and guessed his next words. "And I'm not talking about drinks. There's a nice place a few blocks from my apartment."

"What kind of food?"

"Italian." He looked at her. "What were you expecting me to say Greek?"

"No, I was actually expecting you to say Thai or sushi."

She laughed, reaching over and impulsively kissed his cheek. "I forgot I was talking about that earlier."

"I don't forget things like that." He thought for a moment. "There's a good Thai food restaurant by my place."

She thought for a moment. Mac's place was farther away from Sullivan's than hers, just in the opposite direction. And he probably wouldn't be inclined to head over to Sullivan's if they were heading away from it in the first place; Stella had planned on taking the long way to get to the restaurant by her place anyway.

"Thai sounds good, Mac. I'll even let you pay for it."

" _You_ asked _me_ , Stella, remember? It doesn't matter, though...I'll pay for it if you buy dessert." Stella's eyes sparkled with a naughty glint and Mac found himself outright sparkling. "I was thinking more along the lines of food for dessert."

Stella smirked. "Hey, sometimes two desserts are nice. And you only have to pay half-price then." She moved closer to him, smiling, then pat his cheek quickly. Mac smiled back.

"So Thai works for you?"

"Sure." Stella looked back in the direction of the door, half-expecting to see Danny back. She remembered Halloween once more, and fought to hold back a grin. It still came.

"What's going on?" Mac asked.

"Just...imagining tonight," Stella answered, grinning at this point. When she saw Mac's face, she laughed.

"I have to go find Hawkes," Mac said, looking at his watch. "How about eight thirty?"

Stella shook her head, knowing if he found out there was almost no one in the labs around eight he'd start to suspect something. "Seven thirty."

"I don't know..."

"Leaving for the restaurant earlier means getting dessert earlier."

"Good point. Seven thirty, then."

Stella smiled. "And I'll come get you."

"Are you--"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Just make sure to clean up before I get there. Who knows? May get an appetizer."

Mac laughed as he left the room. Stella leaned against the table, watching him leave, then felt herself grin again. The plan was already working in their favor. Danny was safe, and Mac already had an army forming against him. She was almost tempted to raise the issue with him during dinner, but she knew it would be too soon.


	2. Chapter 2

"Son of a bitch!"

Stella looked up and saw Danny coming into the break room. He had a hand over his cheek and she smirked slightly. "Problem?"

He removed his hand and she could clearly see he got slapped. Not only that, she realized he wasn't wearing his glasses. "Don't ever mess with Monroe after she gets in a fight with Aiden. Ever."

"Where are your glasses?" Stella asked, moving to the refrigerator to get an ice pack.

"Broken. No, Lindsay didn't break them," he said, answering the question on the tip of her tongue. "They just flew off my face and landed wrong."

"She broke them."

"Not on purpose." He sighed as she brought the pack over. "Can this day get any worse?"

"No, but it could get better. I'm going out to dinner with Mac at seven thirty, far away from Sullivan's. If you can get this all done within a half hour and send back the people at the labs that need to be there, that'd be perfect."

"Finally, good news."

"Hey, Messer. Thought I'd find you here. Heard there was a girl fight over you." He and Stella turned, seeing Maka leaning in the break room doorway. The smirk dropped a bit when she saw the ice pack. "Jesus, one of them _hit_ you?"

"Yeah. Monroe."

"Huh," she said. She waved her notebook. "I got a lead. Which one of you is coming with me to check it out? Or do I need to ask?"

Stella glanced sideways at Danny, surprised at how swollen his face could get so soon. "I'll be there in a minute," she answered. "Let me find my kit first." She left quickly, threading her way through the people in the hall.

"Gonna be alright?" Maka asked, moving forward to look at Danny's face closer. "Where're your glasses?"

"Broke," he answered dully.

"I always thought you were blind without them. Never seen them off you."

"I am." Danny closed one eye against the ice pack. "Can't believe -"

Stella entered again, and Danny fell silent. She looked apologetic. "Lindsay's in the locker room. Not saying anything more than that. Okay, maybe I'll say one other thing. She isn't trashing your locker nor is she trashing Aiden's."

"That's good to know." He looked at Maka. "I'd go with, but...blind as a bat, you know?"

"Danny, don't you have prescription sunglasses?" Maka asked. "I swear I've seen you with sunglasses on."

"Yeah..."

"We'll be outside. Then I can maybe drop you off at your eye doctor and you can see about getting those fixed."

Danny grinned slightly and then stopped. "That _hurt_."

"Where are they?" Stella asked, taking something out of her kit.

"In my pocket," he said, pulling them out of his pants pocket. He slipped them on. "Better."

"Soon as Stella gets you fixed up, we'll head out," Maka said, sitting down near him. Stella glanced over at the detective and could almost swear she saw the other woman blush. She decided not to say anything, though.

Stella smiled to herself as she found a bandage in her kit. It surprised her, but she was thankful for it nonetheless. "Never thought slapping could break the skin," she muttered, unwrapping it. 

Danny removed the ice bag from his face. "It wasn't slapping," he corrected. "It's like Lindsay digging her talons into my face and--"

"Theatrics," Maka sighed. "Honestly, Messer, sometimes I wonder why you never became an actor. You'd be good on a soap."

Danny smiled, then winced when Stella got the bandage on him. "Alright, we can drop you off. Lucky you had your glasses on you. Hate to see what Lindsay could do a second time."

"Mm," Danny agreed, wincing again at the image. Maka smiled as she headed out the door. Stella and Danny walked several steps behind.

"Don't see why you don't just settle it by going with Maka," Stella whispered.

"You sound like Chad," Danny answered, but she noticed the light blush on his uncovered cheek.

Stella lowered her voice. "Give me the honest truth. If you had to make a decision over who to date right now, could you decide?" He shook his head. "Would you want to?"

"After Aiden throwing a fit and Lindsay scratching me up? No, thanks. I think I'm now terrified of the idea of dating _either_ of them."

"Then why _not_ ask Maka out? Both of them would leave her alone and the worst thing that could happen to _you_ is that she laughs in your face."

"Gee, Stell, you make it sound so appealing."

"Look...you think when I brought up how I felt to Mac that it was easy? It wasn't. And yeah, you have to be able to handle rejection...something I know you aren't really familiar with, but--"

"Hey, are you two going to hurry up or what?" Maka called from the elevator, where she was holding the door open.

Danny looked past Stella's shoulder to see Maka. Her dark hair fell in front of her face as she watched them, her body turned to keep an arm over the door. He bit his lip.

"Lindsay and Aiden--"

"I know they're your friends." Stella spoke quickly, glancing at Maka again. "They wouldn't bug either of you if you went with Maka. Just think about it. She likes you."

Danny watched Maka for a moment.

"Danny? Stella?" she called.

"Let's just go," Danny sighed.

Mac watched Stella, Danny and Maka leave. He noticed the bandage on Danny's cheek and started to wonder what that was about before Hawkes cleared his throat. "So, you think this is the guy?" Mac asked, looking at the picture on the computer screen in front of him.

"AFIS had a clear match, and the only way there could be a print there is if he was wielding the weapon to strike someone with it. But I think Adam also found some skin cells when he was helping me earlier and we sent them to DNA. Jane should be able to tell us if it's a match."

Mac nodded. "If it is, get him. Sooner we get this case wrapped up the better."

Hawkes grinned, raising his eyebrow. "Date tonight?"

"An actual one, for a change." Mac smiled. "Dinner and everything."

"You seem different since you and Stella started dating. In a good way," Hawkes hurridly added. "I'm surprised you didn't try and keep it a secret."

"There wouldn't have been any point. Sooner or later we would have slipped up. Everyone does," he said, pointing to the screen. "Some slip-ups are worse than others, though." He paused for a moment. "Do you have any idea why Danny was walking out of here with a bandage on his cheek?"

"Not a one," he said as he saw Lindsay enter the lab, moving to stand behind Mac.

Lindsay's cheeks and eyes were both still red as she glanced at the computer screen. "Perp?" she asked roughly. Hawkes glanced at Mac, trying to see how much he could piece together.

"We think so," he answered for Mac, who looked between the computer and Lindsay. "Can't tell until DNA gets back to us."

Lindsay nodded silently. She crossed her arms and bit her lip. "Anyone seen Danny?"

"He left," Mac answered shortly. "On a case."

Hawkes realized that Mac seemed to have pieced at least part of it together. Lindsay only nodded. "Good." She gave the computer one last look. "Should I check to see how much longer it'll take Jane?"

"Sure." Mac nodded her off, then called her back. "Lindsay?" She turned. "Just make sure you don't resort to attacking her, alright?" She opened her mouth to say something and then stopped, turning on heel and leaving the room. She didn't _look_ like she was taking Mac's remark seriously... "I don't normally approve of my CSIs beating each other up over things, but I'm wondering if she had a reason to," Mac said seriously to Hawkes.

"Not a reason she didn't put herself in. Her and Aiden...you mentioned hearing the yelling."

"Let me guess...it isn't Valentine yet love is still in the air?" Mac said with a slight grin on his face.

Hawkes wanted to make a comment about Halloween but bit his tongue; he was really starting to warm up to the idea of the party and he didn't want to let something slip. "Something like that." He looked at the screen and clicked print. "I'm just glad there aren't any women fighting over me."

"I'm glad to not even be in the running anymore," Mac said, picking up the freshly printed paper from the printer. "It makes life much easier."

Hawkes grinned at Mac's remark. "Stella would be shooting anyone who spoke to you, wouldn't she?"

"I would hope so." Mac smiled as he looked at the paper. "And who knows? Maybe one of those waitresses you're always with would defend you."

Now Hawkes tried to hide a smirk. "I wouldn't mind seeing that."

Mac's smile widened, and he folded the paper in half. "Guess this is our guy, then."

"For now, at least. And he won't be hard to find, I'm betting." Hawkes took the paper from Mac. "And maybe we can get Lindsay on this case to, you know, whip some sense into him."

Mac laughed. "You're horrible."

"Who's horrible?" a voice from the doorway asked.

Stella smirked as she looked at the slightly startled expressions on the faces of the men.

"We're on our way to pick up this guy," Mac said grabbing his coat off the chair.

"Actually, Mac" Hawkes said, "I can handle this. I'll get Flack to go with me." He was hoping Mac would agree. He didn't think he could hold his tongue any longer. A slight slip would cancel all the fun they were looking forward to.

"OK," Mac sighed. "I do have one more case to look into." Hawkes left them alone. "I though you were with Maka and Danny?" Mac asked as he sat back down on his chair.

Stella shrugged. "She's only running him down to the eye doctor now. Said they'd be fine, so I left the lovebirds alone."

Mac smiled. "I hope Lindsay and Aiden aren't around."

"Neither of them would bother Maka about this. Besides, I think Danny's already bleeding enough to gain their pity." Stella smiled sadly. "Who would have thought the lab inspires this much violence?"

"I always had cops in here to stop that kind of thing," Mac joked. "Do you have a case now?"

"Nothing until Maka comes back." Stella leaned against the table, watching Mac closely. She had already seen Hawkes' small and constant smile about Halloween, and couldn't tell how much Mac already knew. "Need help with yours?"

He shook his head. "We're still waiting on DNA results to make sure it's our guy."

"Wow. The two of us with no cases. What a rarity in these labs."

"Just as rare as the outbreak of screaming and violence."

"All I did was scream." Mac and Stella whipped their heads around to see Aiden in the doorway. "Hawkes tracked Flack down before we even got out of the building. That's what I get for having him drag me down to the morgue to calm me down."

"Flack hates the morgue," Stella said.

"Yeah, well, after what he had to say to me, I figure he didn't want anyone alive hearing it." She looked slightly abashed. "Sorry for the scene, Mac. Honest."

"You should be apologizing to Danny, actually," Mac said. "Lindsay--"

"Gave him a yelling of her own out of it," Stella said, giving Mac a slight glare that said "do _not_ bring up the cut or the broken glasses or Aiden will go off on Lindsay again" quite clearly.

"Yeah, well..." She shrugged. "I'll apologize later. Heard you two saying you were without cases at the moment. Help me on mine? Not often I get a case to run on my own, but I need the help."

"Glad you asked for it," Mac said. "Knowing when to ask for help...that's a strength, not a weakness."

Aiden smiled at the compliment, and Mac was glad to see that all thought of Danny and Lindsay seemed to be swept away. "I'm thinking the vic was giving a shot with something he didn't agree with...drugs, poison, something. The only sign we saw on him were a few pinpricks. We even found a syringe in the trash a few feet away."

Mac nodded as he listened. "Get any prints off it?"

"That's the problem. No prints, no epithelials, nothing."

"What about something inside the syringe?" Stella asked.

"Nothing. It's like it only ever had air in it, but the shots were just in the arms. No arteries or anything. I can't figure out why he would have reacted like that if it was just air."

"Embolisms don't usually show many signs," Mac agreed. "What's making you think poison?"

"The black lips, for one." She pulled out the file she'd been carrying with her and showed them a picture. Stella visibly flinched, not at the blackened lips, but at the general disfiguration of the man's face.

"Please tell me that happened post-mortem," Stella said, gesturing to the cuts on and missing chunks of flesh from the vics face.

"That's what Marty said, anyway." She appeared not to be bothered by the picture; whether that was because she'd gotten used to seeing it for the case or because things like that just didn't upset her any more, Mac wasn't sure. "This is a weird case, Mac, and I have no idea where to go with it."

"Think we can head down to autopsy and see if the body's still there?" Mac said. "Might help shed some more light on what happened."

"Yeah...I just came up from there, remember? Didn't see a soul down there." She grinend slightly. "Bad pun."

Mac grinned, "In that case, I'll call Sid and see where he is."

He moved away from the two girls to make the call. Aiden watched for awhile and then turned to Stella. "I never thanked you for trying to intervene. I couldn't help it, though." A defensive note crept into her voice. "I've known Danny a lot longer than that _country belle_ , and all of a sudden, I don't know... I just...couldn't stand the fact that there was a woman who could get along well with Danny better than me."

Stella looked over at Mac who was still trying to reach Sid. Feeling an odd mixture of satisfaction and sympathy, "You _like_ Danny that much?"

Aiden shrugged. "To be honest, I still don't know. But hearing that note..." she paused. "I just don't know what came over me..." She broke off suddenly as Mac hung up and moved towards them.

"He didn't write it," Stella said softly. Aiden looked at her for a moment. "Chad and Adam and I were teasing him. We were trying to blackmail him--"

"Flack said something about that," she said. "I know we're all supposed to meet up tonight about it. I just didn't realize you guys were..." She shook her head. "I'm a first class idiot."

Mac nodded to them as he got close to them again. "Sid's going to meet me down in autopsy. For some reason, he said he doesn't want to 'expose you ladies to the unsavory elements of this case.' His words, not mine."

Stella laughed. "Go. Bring us more detailed results quickly." She watched Mac head out and turned back to Aiden. "Out of curiosity, what _else_ did Flack say to you earlier?"

A slow blush crept up her cheek. "Not much, really."

Stella smiled. "You have too expressive of a face to lie, Aiden."

"He just told me about the plan," Aiden mumbled. "I'm...I'm really sorry I didn't go along with them. I was just..."

"They're just going to spread the word." Stella shrugged. "Beside, it's not like Danny's there."

"Where is he?" Aiden asked, and Stella noticed that her blush had returned.

"At the eye doctor." Stella chose her words carefully. "Maka took him because his glasses broke."

Aiden seemed to understand what she meant. "I can't believe I actually -"

"You didn't do it," Stella cut in comfortingly. "It's our fault. We were just joking around, but it didn't come off the right way. Neither you or Lindsay are to blame." At the mention of Lindsay's name, Stella noticed Aiden's jaw tighten.

"Did-- Never mind. I don't want to know. It won't help if I blow up at every little thing _she_ does. Besides, I was here first!"

Stella had to smile. _This_ was more like the Aiden she knew. "As long as you two can work together, I doubt anyone will try and get you to socialize outside of work. But I also highly doubt Mac's going to put either of you on a case together or on a case with Danny for a little while."

Aiden nodded. "We really screwed up his life right now, didn't we?"

"Nothing he can't handle," Stella said. She thought for a minute. "Since you know about the plans, who can you tell?"

"Well...I know a few of the guys we're supposed to get in on this probably won't do it without a little coercion. I guess I can promise I'll wear a short skirt for whatever I dress up as."

Stella laughed. "If that's what you think it'll take, I say go for it."

"Yeah, and maybe it'll get somebody's attention," she said quietly. Only this time when she started to blush, Stella was almost sure it wasn't Danny who's attention she wanted. Stella looked past her and saw Mac heading back towards them.

"Hey, that was quick," she said. "What did Sid have to say?"

Mac raised his eyebrows, looking amused. "Sid had...plenty of things to say."

"You look happy," Stella pointed out. "Did he find out the key to stopping every murder in New York?"

"No quite, but Sid did manage to find something that proves it was poison. His jokes were quite...excuse me...below the belt."

Aiden's eyes widened as she hid her laugh with a cough. Stella grinned. "Nice, Mac. What is it?"

"It's not a man-made poison, but a plant. Looks like poison ivy and some nonoxynol-9, which led to twice the reaction he would have normally had."

"This guy got around," Aiden said, grinning again. "Kinda glad I'm not on Danny's case now."

Stella couldn't help it; she broke into a grin, and then the laughter started. "I'm...I'm sorry. I just..." She shook her head, trying to calm herself down, but the huge grin on her face would _not_ dissipate completely, leaving her with an amused smile and her eyes sparkling a bit.

Mac raised an eyebrow, but he was grinning slightly. "I take it I probably shouldn't repeat Sid's jokes in your company?"

"No, probably not," Stella said, shaking her head. "So, we know _what_ happened...I'm almost afraid to ask _how_ it happened."

Aiden's grin still wasn't gone. "I think he got a little somethin'-somethin' in the woods, had a reaction, and left."

"It doesn't seem like that would be deadly," Mac interrupted. "There's still the facial disfigur--"

"You're talking like you _know_ it wouldn't be deadly." Stella tried to stop her laughter. "Been camping lately?"

"Not that kind of camping." He smiled. "That's the exact reason I prefer the city. Like Sid said...you don't get that kind of reaction with a hot dog." 

Aiden and Stella's laughter doubled. "It could be," Stella said between laughing, "that whoever _gave_ him the little somethin'-somethin' got the same reaction."

"Oh, I can just see that," Aiden said, pausing to wipe a tear away. "Getting back at someone for a rash like that. Wonder where she had it..."

Stella looked at Aiden and the two of them started to laugh again. Mac looked at them strangely and shook his head. "I think I'll leave you two alone to compose yourselves..."

Aiden sobered up slightly. "No, it's okay Mac." She looked at Stella and grinned. "I think this was just what we needed. Made my bad day seem _much_ better."

"Yeah," Stella said, getting more serious. "I think we've laughed ourselves out over this." Aiden let out a small laugh. "Okay, I've laughed myself out over this, at any rate."

Mac shook his head again, but he couldn't help but smile. "Sid wants me to remind you that the two of you are banned from the morgue until the case is over."

"Would he really do that?" Aiden asked, still trying to stop her laughs. "Sounds like a case he'd want to share with the world."

"He didn't say it, to tell you the truth." Mac smiled. " _I'm_ banning the two of you from the morgue until it's solved."

"That's cold, Mac." Stella put her hands on her hips. "We can figure this out without--" Aiden laughed, and Stella tried to give her a dirty look, but grinned.

"If you want, I can take the case..." Mac said lightly. "Give you another one to work on your own, Aiden."

"If I'm banned from the morgue, you might have to." Aiden was still grinning. "But I could always work it with Stella till Maka and Cassanova get back."

Even Mac had to laugh at that. "There's an open case on my desk. I'll get it for you."

He started to walk out of the lab when Stella called out, "Do _not_ let this case interfere with our date, Mac. You are _mine_ at seven thirty, case or no case."

"Wouldn't miss it," he called over his shoulder, "because I get the feeling you'd hurt me if I did."

"He's right. I would," Stella said when Mac was out of earshot. She turned to Aiden. "All right. I'm dying of curiosity and the joking got me distracted. Just what _did_ Flack say to you?"

"He told me I shouldn't be pushing Danny over this, that it'll ruin my friendship with him," she said, shaking her head to get rid of the last of her huge grin. A small one still remained. "Sometimes I think we forget how perceptive he can be. At least I know _I_ do."

"Under all that wit and charm is a brain," Stella mused, then smiled. "Sometimes it's amazing. Then again, I guess there's a reason why Flack's a cop."

Aiden nodded. "Just like with Danny. Sometimes you just can't understand them enough to tell that there's a reason why they're even here and not--" She struggled for words.

"In a frat house getting drunk?" Stella offered.

"Exactly." Aiden's grin returned. She glanced at the door as though she was waiting for someone, and Stella thought she knew who. Aiden searched for a topic. "What kind of case is Mac giving us?"

"Probably something that's easy to solve in ten minutes with no rashes involved," Stella guessed.

She nodded. "We can only hope."

Stella saw Flack coming from one direction, hanging his head slightly with Hawkes right behind him. "Tell you what. Why don't I go to Mac's office and get the case file while you find out why the two of them don't have their suspect."

Aiden turned around and saw where Stella was looking. "You know, I think maybe you should just go get Mac. He's on that case, remember?"

"Maybe he can transfer you onto it and he and I can work on the other one," she said, turning her head towards Mac's office and seeing him come out.

"What, want to get some alone time with your boyfriend?" Aiden said with a grin.

"I'm getting that later tonight," Stella said, smacking Aiden lightly on the shoulder. "Besides, I think your boy could do with some cheering up."

"He's not my boy," Aiden mumbled.

"All right. Hawkes could use some cheering up."

Aiden smiled and shook her head jokingly. "Alright, we can switch. Just make sure," she added with a grin, "that you and Mac get something done."

"We haven't managed to get so many criminals while jumping on each other, have we?" Stella asked, and Aiden noticed a slight, embarrassed blush on her cheeks. 

"You tell yourself that." Aiden patted Stella's back. "You go find him and I'll find the others."

Stella nodded and turned around. Mac walked up in front of her, smiling. "What're we talking about?" he asked, watching Aiden leave. "Did you upset her again?"

"No, we're just engaging in a round of musical cases." Stella pointed to Flack and Hawkes. "They don't have their suspect. I figure right now she needs to work on a case that won't let her get distracted. Or cause her to burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter."

Mac grinned slightly. "And you think you can hold yourself together for this one?"

"I was thinking you take the rash mystery, I take this one," she said, plucking the file out of his hands, "and we still leave here at seven thirty."

"You really want this date, don't you?"

"Mac, honestly. When's the last time we actually went out on a real date?"

He had to think about it, and just by doing that he realized it had been too long. He took the file back out of her hand. "Since you seem to be wanting to swap cases all over the place, how about we do this: Flack and Aiden take the case in my hand. Hawkes and Lindsay stay on my current case. Danny and Maka stay on your current case. Man with the rash waits until tomorrow, and you and I leave now and come back in the morning or if there's another outbreak of physical violence between the CSIs."

She started to blush. Stella never blushed, but something about his decisive nature regarding this made her really want to leave the labs with him. Quickly. "I'd say that works pretty well. Let me just call Danny and let him know while you tell everyone else."

Mac smiled and seemed to notice her blush, which only amused him more. "Sure. I'll get Aiden." He walked off to follow her as Stella pulled out her phone.

Danny answered within a few rings. "Messer."

"Hey, Danny." Stella pressed a hand against her cheek, glad to feel the heat from her cheeks dissipate. "Hey, we're switching cases around, alright?" She told him the cases as well as who was now on each, and Danny listened quietly. "That alright by you?" she finished?

"Yeah. What're you and Mac on?"

Stella looked down the hall to see if Mac was within earshot yet. "I'm taking on my side of the deal."

"This early? Never thought Mac would ever leave the lab."

"Of course he would for me." Stella smirked. "Wouldn't you leave for Maka?"

Danny laughed quietly on the other end. "Alright. I'm gonna go. I finally stopped bleeding, and I don't want Maka to think I'm talking to Lindsay or Aiden."

Stella smiled as she said goodbye and hung up. She stared at her phone for a minute. _If what I'm thinking is right, we'll probably have two new couples all working under the same roof by the end of the month...three if we can somehow point Lindsay in the direction of a certain coroner_ , she thought to herself.

With that she smiled. Since she was so happy, she basically wanted to see everyone else happy. It was only natural, or at least she assumed it was. And if that meant having to deal with cases being rearranged or deals being struck, than that's what it took.

She felt an arm slip around her waist and she didn't do anything other than smile. "I thought you weren't one for public displays of affection at work," she said.

"I haven't kissed you at work yet."

"If you didn't have glass walls all over the place, you would have by now."

"You do have a point." He used his arm around her waist to guide her to the elevator. "Of course, there's always the elevator, if it's empty."

"Why, Mac Taylor. Sometimes you really do surprise me," Stella said, feigning shock.

"It must be something you do," he said. 

Even though she still hadn't looked at him, she was sure he had one of those contented smiles on his face, the ones he'd have when they got time alone together, no matter how brief it was or where it took place. "Yeah, must be."

Stella let Mac keep his hand on the small of her back as he walked them to the elevator. During their years of working together, there had been small little moments, small touches like this, but Stella couldn't remember his touch ever being so steady. He had always, around everyone in the lab, been the type to shy away from any contact he could. _There's always more to Mac_ , Stella considered with a smile. _Steady but not consistent_.

He pressed the button for the first floor, then the 'Door Close' button. Before the doors managed to even touch, Stella put a kiss on the side of his lips. Mac turned to face her with a smile.

"You suggested it," she explained, then laid another kiss on his lips. Mac returned it. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, not caring what floor they were at or how much longer they had. 

They made it down to the first floor without the doors opening up onto any of the other floors. By the time the elevator settled, the both of them looked presentable, though Stella was amused that there was a minute trace of her lipstick on the side of his mouth where she'd first kissed him.

"So this is an actual date," he said. "Which means...what, exactly?"

"Dinner. At some point. I know you don't like to dance--"

"I don't, but I would."

She grinned. "All right. Dancing is maybe a possibility. And then there's always the old stand-by of movies."

"A darkened theater with you? I think I like that option."

She swatted his shoulder slightly and laughed, looping her arm through his and resting her cheek on the shoulder she'd just swatted. "I think I'm corrupting you."

"Maybe. I don't seem to mind, though."

"Hard to mind my corruption when you know you're going to get something out of it." Stella smirked and felt the tell-tale twitch of Mac's shoulder as he tried to hold back a laugh.

"True." Mac grinned. "So which are we agreeing on?"

Stella moved her hand enough to touch each finger as she named everything. "First, movie if anything good in playing."

"There's a horror on in half an hour, comedy in forty-five minutes, and romance in half an hour."

Stella grinned as she stared at him. "Do you memorize movie schedules?" Mac didn't answer. "Did you just look them up?"

"Maybe."

"I _have_ done something to you." Stella hugged his arm closer. "So, a movie, then dinner."

"Are we still dancing?" he asked.

"Of course not." At Mac's confused look, she answered, "I did promise you dessert. If you think you can handle both..."


	3. Chapter 3

"They're gonna kill me."

Maka punched him slightly in the arm. "Either of them lays a hand on you, Danny, that'll be..." She trailed off. "Nothing's going to happen."

"So I take it we're still going on the first name thing here?" He asked. His optometrist had given him contacts to use while his glasses were getting fixed and Maka had to admit, he looked rather good without them on.

"Why not? This is an informal get together to plot ambushing Mac...might as well be on first name basis for this."

"I mean...you and I, we only call each other by our first names when it's just...us."

He was about to open the door to Sullivan's but she stopped him. "Do I look like I care if everyone knows we hang out? Come on, Danny. It's not that big of a secret. If you want to put up a front, fine, but..."

He shook his head. "No. No, actually, if it's okay to call you Kaile around everyone, I'd rather do that."

"Just not at work."

"No, not at work."

Maka smiled. "So now you're implying we're going to see more of each other outside work."

"You said--" Danny broke off and smiled. "Alright. Sure. And look now." He pulled open the door again. "We're off to a good start."

Still smiling, Maka entered the dimmed bar and waited for Danny to join her. Both looked around for a moment, trying to find their group, until Maka pointed. "They're right there."

Danny looked and seemed prepared to squint. His expression was amusing, and Maka guessed he had never used contacts in his life. "They are," he said to cover himself up.

Several of the techs, Jane, Hawkes, and Adam sat at the table already. Adam waved at them to get their attention, and Maka and Danny tried to squeeze in at the table. "Are we--" Adam started.

"Waiting for everyone else," Hawkes answered, craning his neck to watch the door. "We need plenty more, believe me."

"From what I understand, this is going to be one rather large group of people," Jane said, stirring a drink.

The door opened again and Flack, Aiden, Marty and Zao came in. They approached the table and stood there. "We need another table or two," Aiden said. "Saw about four other people headed over this way from the labs."

Flack, Marty and Zao began dragging tables over. "Pretty soon there isn't going to be a spot left for anyone else," Flack muttered.

"We came over here before we went back to the labs," Danny said. "Everyone's getting at least one drink." Flack opened up his mouth to protest but Danny looked at him. He was still squinting but Flack got the idea. "Even if I have to buy them myself."

"You must really want this to happen," Zao said.

"No, I just don't want Stella to kill me. Self preservation and all."

"Didn't solve your 'problem' yet?" Flack asked with a grin. He seemed to notice Maka and Danny, as well as how close they sat for once.

"He will," Maka answered gruffly, though she was smiling. 

"We need to consider," Jane started, changing the subject quickly, "how to force Mac into this. We could start thinking about that before everyone else comes and have a quick plan idea."

"That's our whole problem," Danny started with a sigh. "How do you crack the boss?" Jane continued to stir her drink slowly without an answer.

"Well, I managed to talk more of the techs into it than him or Chad," Aiden said, pointing at Adam. "Touched base with Chad before we headed over here and between the three of us and Jane, we've got almost every tech in on this. Except those with big mouths."

"How did you manage that?" Jane asked.

"Promised I'd wear a short skirt." Aiden shrugged. "No one in the labs has ever seen me in a skirt, much less a dress. Even the women wanted to see that happen."

Danny grinned. Okay. So we have techs, we have coroners...right?" Marty and Zao nodded. "And all of the CSIs with the exception of Mac--"

"And Lindsay," Hawkes said. "She wanted to be left alone today. I can try and talk to her tomorrow."

"If you don't think she'll be up for it, don't bring it up," Flack pointed out.

"Why wouldn't I be up for it?" The entire table turned to look at Lindsay. Before anyone could ask, she pointed at Marty. "He told me. I thought it sounded fun."

"When did you talk to her?" Zao asked. "You were in autopsy all day."

"Well, someone on her case had to come down for results," he said, shrugging. He looked over at her and indicated the seat next to him, which she took. Danny noted it was farthest away from Aiden...whether Marty had planned it that way or just wanted her to sit next to him, he wasn't sure, but he felt like profoundly thanking the young coroner.

"All right. Anyone else coming tonight?" Danny asked.

"Chad," Aiden said. "Maybe a few of the other techs. But I think it'll mostly be up to us."

The door opened again, and Danny couldn't help but notice the look the man behind the bar gave their table, as well as the newcomers. He craned his head to look and saw Chad with a female tech at his side.

"We're late," he said as he sat down near Adam. "Has anyone decided anything?"

"Couldn't do anything when you're so late," Adam answered. "Anyone else you know coming?"

Chad shook his head and glanced around at the others, all of whom threw looks around as though to check who was there. 

"Then everyone's here." Flack leaned back. "Everyone knows our plan tonight, right? We're getting Mac to agree to a Halloween party in the lab."

One of the techs raised their hand slightly. "Why?" she asked.

"You're outta here--" Flack started to say, then Hawkes pushed him back.

"Danny made a promise to Stella," he explained. "And it's a good idea by itself."

"Speaking of Stella," Jane said slowly, "where is she?"

"Distracting Mac." Danny tried to cover his grin, but failed. "Looks like the girls are great for bribery today."

Aiden threw a false glare at him, then smiled. Danny glanced at Lindsay to see her lips tighten. Danny leaned back in his chair, hoping he would be out of their sight. Maka glared at Lindsay and she seemed to shrink back a little; unlike Aiden's glare, hers was the real thing. Danny glanced over and saw it, then leaned in to whisper to Maka.

"They aren't going to start fighting, you know. They both like this place too much to get into a fight."

"I know that," Maka whispered back, snapping slightly.

"Yeah, I know you know that. But calm down already, all right?" He stopped whispering to her when he began to feel everyone looking at them.

"You two get any ideas?" Hawkes asked, raising his eyebrow.

Danny started to say no, but Maka began to speak. "Sort of. We need the direct approach, but not all at once. We need to corner Mac everywhere he goes. Any time he walks into a room, someone needs to talk to him about this party." She looked around. "And then we all gang up on him at once. And this time with Stella...we save her for the large meet-up. Preferably in the break room since I doubt we could all fit in his office or any of the labs, really."

Adam rubbed at his beard slightly. "You know, I think that's a good idea."

"And Stell would probably go with it so long as she can avoid Mac the rest of the day," Flack said. 

"And if this doesn't work, we lay it down at Danny's feet."

"I'm not getting fired over this, Aiden. So if this fails, everyone takes the blame."

"It's only fair. We're all participating, we should all stick our necks out," Zao said, and Danny could see nods in agreement around the table.

"Here's my question," Lindsay said suddenly. "If we're wanting a costume party, we need to have some rules for what can and can't be worn, right?"

"Girl's got a point," Aiden said grudgingly. "If we don't go in there with all the details for the party worked out ahead of time, Mac won't budge on this." She glanced over at Lindsay and saw the woman staring at her in surprise. "Like I said, you do have a valid point. We'd all be stupid if we didn't listen to it."

Lindsay still seemed taken aback by Aiden's comment, but she leaned back in her chair and nodded.

"Just don't be inappropriate," Hawkes said, shrugging, then he paused. "No, _Stella_ can be inappropriate, but that's just so that we can get Mac to agree to all of this."

Danny grinned. "Yeah. Just dress how you would if you were going to..." He thought. "If you were going to your kid's Halloween party."

"And if we don't have kids?" Chad asked.

"Then pretend you do, and pretend you don't want to scare them," Danny snapped. 

Chad nodded and gave him the thumbs up. "Can we go scarier than that?"

"Just don't get me fired," Danny sighed. "Mac's already going to be pissed enough at this idea."

"Maybe not," Adam interrupted. "You know...there's always the chance he'll like this idea."

Half of the table exploded into laughter. "That was priceless," Flack said.

"Yeah," Aiden said with a grin. "Mac, actually liking this..."

Danny shook his head. "I'm getting canned over his, I can tell," he muttered to himself.

Maka put a hand on his back, clapping his shoulder lightly and leaving it there. "Like Zao said, we're all going to stick our necks out for this since we all want it."

"But if he," Danny said, pointing at Chad, "has the same mentality of everyone else who's doing this, we're _screwed_."

Chad held up his hands. "Honest...not wanting you to lose your job over this."

Jane cleared her throat. "Considering this, maybe we should be more specific. No one is really going to notice what those of us who are lab technicians are going to be wearing. So long as we can do our jobs safely..." She trailed off.

"Detectives and CSIs should wear anything they can change out of quickly," Lindsay said, "and nothing that involves elaborate make-up or anything."

"And no masks," Aiden added, nodding towards Lindsay. "No one will be able to work if we wear masks."

"Wigs?" Adam asked.

"Probably not," Hawkes said. "Better not to risk it."

"Sounds like we've got some details fleshed out," Marty said, nodding. "Anything else we need to consider before those of us who need to get back to work have to go?"

The group all looked at each other, trying to read faces for ideas.

"Just use common sense," Hawkes said. "No masks, not heavy makeup, careful with outfits--

"No wings."

Hawkes paused and looked at Adam. "Wings? Why would you want wings to begin with?"

Adam shrugged. "Someone may have been considering it."

Aiden smiled. "Sure. Tell yourself that, Adam." The group laughed. "Alright. And for the lab techs-- Don't wear anything too big. You still need your gloves and coats."

"What about monster claws?" Chad asked.

"What?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chad curled his hand into a claw and shrugged. "You know. The kind that you wear for a werewolf costume or something. You know?"

Danny blinked at Aiden, who grinned. "Okay," he answered slowly. "Just... make sure they come off, alright?"

Chad grinned. "Great!"

"So that's it?" Flack asked. Everyone nodded. "Great. Let's start tomorrow."

"Day after," Maka said, shaking her head. "That way we can tell everyone who wasn't here what the plan is. And Stella can give us some pointers if we need them. If anyone knows how to be devious, it's Stella."

Aiden grinned and raised her drink. "Amen to that."

"All right," Danny said. "So that's it. See everyone later."

Everyone drifted off; those that were off work moved over to other tables or took some of the grouped together tables with them, leaving Danny, Maka, Flack and Aiden at one table. "Hey, Flack," Maka said. "You actually think this'll work?"

"To be honest, I don't know," he said slowly.

"But it's worth a shot," Aiden said, nodding. Danny said nothing, and Flack, Aiden and Maka looked at each other. "Hey, Flack, feel like buying me a drink?"

"Sure thing," he said, getting up and leaving, Aiden following behind.

"Everything all right, Danny?" Maka asked.

Danny nodded absently. "Yeah."

Maka raised an eyebrow. "C'mon, Danny." She shifted in her seat to face him. "What's going on?"

"I just don't know if this'll work."

"It will." Maka smiled. "I know that's not everything. Speak up."

Danny looked away, then back at her, frowning. "You know, I still have to deal with Aiden and Lindsay. I just realized that. Stella can't keep them off me forever."

"That's all you made the deal for, right? Just a few days." Maka shrugged. "Anyway... What's there left to deal with?"

Danny opened his mouth, then paused. "Well...I don't know."

Maka grinned. "They're off your back. Aiden looks happy with Flack, and Lindsay...well, she can't stay angry at you forever."

Danny laughed. "Thought you were going to say Mac or Hawkes there for a second."

Maka laughed with him. "Hawkes, maybe, but definitely not Mac. He's probably off having fun with Stella, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." He thought for a minute. "If we give him enough time, Marty might make that problem with Lindsay go away completely."

"He did seem interested, didn't he?"

"Never thought I'd say this, but thank God for competition." He leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together and putting them behind his head. "I still have to buy drinks to cover the use of these tables for the whole few minutes we were all here. You want something? I'll cover cab fare if you want something harder than soda."

She thought for a moment. "What were you planning on having?"

"Shots. I need _something_ to keep this feeling of impending doom at bay." She nodded in agreement. "Anything specific you want?"

"Whatever you're having is fine, Danny. As long as it isn't tequila." She grinned. "You remember the last time I had some."

"Yeah, that was a sight..."

"Least I didn't get up on the tables," she added as though in hopes to redeem herself.

"You were close to it." Danny walked to the bar, Maka following close behind. They took seats at the bar as a bartender walked over to them. "Vodka," he said to the bartender. "Gin and tonic. Anything'll do." He pulled out his wallet and slapped some bills onto the bar, which the man took once he poured two shot glasses.

"Here's to Halloween," Maka said, clinking the small glass against his.

"Here's to getting people out of my hair thanks to cops and medical examiners." They laughed and drank. Maka slammed her glass against the table before Danny and grinned. "Don't start with the tequila," Danny said.

She laughed again, shaking her head this time. When she was done, she looked up at him, eyes sparkling. "About how many drinks do you need to buy?"

"Eight."

"I'll cover the next round. Then we take a break." She turned to the bartender. "Jack and..." She gave Danny an evil grin. "Tequila."

"I thought you said--"

"The Jack's mine."

"You're evil."

"All in the spirit of Halloween." She pulled out the bills from her own wallet and paid for the drinks, handing Danny his shot only when the bartender passed over a shaker of salt and a lime wedge. "Drink up, Danny."

He shook his head, picking up the salt shaker. "I really should make you drink this..."

"I love watching you take tequila shots," she said, still grinning wickedly.

"I noticed." He licked the back of his hand and then sprinkled salt on it. Then he licked the salt, grabbed the shot and slammed it back. Maka was already handing him the lime before he got the glass back to the bar.

Danny sucked on the lime as he raised an eyebrow. When he dropped it, he asked, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Just a little." Maka grinned as she took a drink. "Shouldn't I be?"

Danny smiled back. "Alright. As long as you don't touch the tequila."

Maka caught the bartender's attention. "Another shot, please."

"No!" Danny cut in quickly. "She's not allowed to have any!"

Maka laughed. "Alright, I'm just kidding. Don't worry." She examined her drink for a moment. A small smile appeared on her face. "You do need to get those drinks, though..."

Danny sighed and caught the bartender's attention again.

He looked over to Flack and Aiden, then thought for a moment. "Okay. I want..." He thought. "Screw it. Another shot of tequila for me. Shot of whatever she wants," he said, pointing to Maka.

She downed her shot. "Jack."

"And then tell those two they get a round on me." The bartender nodded and went over to Flack and Aiden.

"That was nice of you," Maka noted.

"Well, beers are less expensive than these shots, and I know neither of them are touching the hard stuff after having a beer." He watched Flack nod in his direction, and the bartender rang up the price of two shots and two beers. Danny winced slightly at the cost.

"You know, those two look cute together, and I'm not one to use the term 'cute' lightly," she said.

"Only people I use the term 'cute' about is Mac and Stella. Behind their backs, of course."

"Of course." The bartender placed their shots in front of them, along with another lime for Danny.

He looked at Maka. "Got a question for you."

"Yeah? Shoot."

"How come we only act like this away from work?"

She started to reply, then stopped. "Don't know," she finally said. She watched him prep for his shot silently. "Doesn't mean it can't change, though."

He nodded, then knocked back the shot. Once again, he had the wedge of lime waiting for him because Maka was holding it up. "Good. I like being treated like a normal human being," he told her with a grin.

"Mes-- Danny, shut up."

"Yes, Detective."

"At least you didn't call me Maka."

"True." He figured out in his head how much he needed to buy. "Two more shots and then I'm free."

"You got plans for after this?"

He stilled, then shrugged. "Not really. Why?"

She took a deep breath. "Want to grab something to eat, just the two of us?"

He bit back the reply of asking her if she was asking him out, just nodding instead. "Sounds good. What do you want?"

"Not sure. I want to sit down, though...I had breakfast, lunch and a snack from vendors today, standing up the whole time. Don't want to repeat that."

"If you're in the mood for Italian I know a great place up the street," he said carefully. "Not too expensive to split things there."

She nodded. "Okay. That works. Plus the carbs will soak up some of the alcohol you insist on drinking."

" _I_ insist? You're the one who pushed another shot of tequila at me."

"And I'm about to push a third and fourth," she said with a smirk. "Two shots of tequila, one shot of Jack, one of Southern Comfort."

"You want to drink that much?" he asked.

"Neither of us are lightweights. Four shots won't kill us. Make us a little tipsy, maybe, but it won't kill us." She waited for the bartended to serve up the shots. "If you don't want it I'll take the tequila."

" _No._. I'll drink it," he said. "Wouldn't want you almost embarrassing yourself."

"You're a good man, Danny."

"Yeah? Tell it to the two women I don't want to deal with."

They heard Aiden laugh and both looked over at her and Flack, who were talking animatedly. "Don't think she'll be a problem for you much, Danny."

"Looks that way," he said, nodding. "Let's just hope they don't pussyfoot around." He took the served shot and looked at it for a second.

"What, like you and most of the girls you've been interested in?" Maka asked, her voice only slightly teasing.

He took his first shot, downed it, and then immediately slammed back the second while Maka was still on her first. She raised her eyebrow at him. "Okay. Worst that can happen is you'll laugh," he said to her. "I want to ask you out."

"It only took four shots? I thought it was going to take more," she said with a grin. "Danny...us eating tonight? That's a date."

He blinked, and she wasn't sure if it was because of the contacts or sheer surprise. "Oh, you're good."

"No, I just get what I want. If I did the same thing Aiden and Lindsay did you wouldn't touch me with a ten foot pole. I'm not stupid."

"I know."

"I _am_ however, resourceful. Minute I found out we were meeting here I decided to pour enough liquor in you to get you to ask. Wasn't sure it was going to _work_ , though. And if it didn’t, I was just going to ask you anyway, but I wanted to give you the chance to do it the right way."

He grinned at her. "Trust me. I've spent all day dealing with most of the guys telling me I should just ask you out. Stella pushed, too."

"I got that feeling."

"So," he said. "When should we start this date?"

She looked at the second shot, picked it up and slammed it. "Now."

"Now's good." They slid off the stools and made a beeline out of Sullivan's, much to the amusement of Flack and Aiden.

Aiden grinned over at Flack. "Pay up."

"How'd you go from wanting to date him to wanting to bet they'd hook up so fast?" Flack asked, pulling out his wallet.

"Easy. After today I realized it's human nature. You push him, he pulls away, except with her because they don’t let each other do that. A Homicide cop pointed that out to me in a morgue in a rather loud voice."

"I wasn't yelling."

"Didn't say you were." She paused. "But you were jealous as hell." He said nothing, looking down at the table. "Flack? It's all right. Honest. If Monroe had hit on you I probably would have been madder about that than I was about Danny."

"You aren't joking here, right? Because if you are, that's low."

"Hey, look up." He looked at her face. "Not quite sure what the hell's happened in the last twenty-four hours, but I know I am not going to be competing for Danny any more. Especially if Maka's staked a claim." She stopped. "No...that's not right."

"Then what is?"

"Guess he's not you. He's fine if you want instant gratification, but let's face it: if I'd been angry about anything else, who do you think the first person sent to deal with me would be, you or Danny?"

"Me."

" _Exactly_. You know what makes me tick and, as good of friends as we are, he doesn't." She shrugged. "Not saying he doesn't know me at all, but..."

"I get you."

"Yeah." She grinned. "So, since there's a sudden breakout of sentimentality, why don't we call it a night here--"

"Oh."

"And if you'd let me finish," she said, her grin widening, "I was going to suggest catching a movie."

" _Oh._ " He nodded slowly, a grin spreading over his face. "Yeah. Movie sounds good." They stood up, ignoring the second drinks Danny had got them.

"Just so you know? I don't scare easily and I'm in the mood for a horror flick."

"Those aren't any fun to watch if someone's not scared."

She patted his cheek. "Then maybe it's time to test out my acting skills." She laughed softly and grabbed her coat, Flack following suit. They headed out of the bar and into the cold night, not exactly sure of what was going on but feeling better than they had earlier in the day.


	4. Chapter 4

The planned tactical assault, as Chad had referred to it, began the next morning. Any time Mac was around someone who’d been involved in the planning of the party, it was mentioned. There was talk about the holiday in general, how much fun a Halloween party would be, costumes…anything relating to Halloween or a party for Halloween was brought up numerous times. Within three hours of his shift Mac was all but tired of Halloween.

“I think it’s going to backfire,” Danny said, looking at Stella with a worried expression. She had been filled in on the plan the minute Hawkes saw her that morning, though she’d had her doubts about it. “Chad brought something up and Mac just glared at him until he fell silent.”

Stella thought for a moment. “Mind if I try a different approach?”

“Sure, yeah,” Danny said.

“No more ambushing him. You and I…we go in and ask. Bring up those rules you all came up with last night. And we just hope everyone didn’t piss him off too much.”

He nodded. “Let me go tell everyone to stop bugging him about it.”

“I have to head down to autopsy, so I’ll tell the coroners. You get the techs.”

“On it,” he said before he turned away from her and headed towards the AV lab.

Within a half hour, they’d told everyone involved to lay off. Stella and Danny looked at each other as they waited down the hall from Mac’s office. “Who else is coming in to ask?” she asked.

“Hawkes, Aiden and Lindsay. Looks like they’re putting aside their differences for this.”

Stella nodded as the three CSIs came up to them. “Okay,” Stella said after taking a deep breath. “Danny volunteered to be the one to ask. We don’t all jump in with the info, we let it sink in a minute first. Then if he asks, we go into more detail. Got it?” Everyone nodded. “Good. Let’s go do this.”

Danny reached the door first and opened it up, letting everyone file in in front of him. Mac had his eyes closed for a moment and then opened them up again when Danny shut the door behind him. “Do you all really want a Halloween party that badly?” he asked wearily.

“Yeah,” Danny said, and everyone else nodded in agreement. “It’d be fun.”

“You know, if you’d just asked instead of trying to ambush me, I’d have said yes to this.”

“And now?” Lindsay asked.

“I don’t know. You’re going to have to convince me.” He looked at them.

Danny moved a little closer to his desk. “There’s a whole lot of us who want to do this, Mac. And not just CSIs and techs. Coroners and Flack and Maka and some of the other cops, too.”

“But why here at the labs? Why not after work at Sullivan’s or something?” he asked.

Stella looked thoughtful. “Well, why couldn’t we do both? A more sedate party here for anyone that won’t be able to attend an evening party, and a more…raucous party in the evening.”

“Hadn’t even thought about that,” Aiden said. “Think Sullivan’s would have a problem with that?”

Lindsay spoke up. “Maybe a couple of us can go by and ask later.”

“I’ll go with you,” Hawkes said. “If you wanted to ask, I mean.”

“I’ll ask,” Lindsay said with a nod.

“But, about that sedate party,” Danny said. “Would you agree to that, Mac?”

“How sedate are we talking here?” he asked.

“No costumes,” Stella said. “Food in the break room, maybe decorate the break room for Halloween? Have it later in the afternoon for a couple of hours so people can still get work done. Something small. And we could still invite everyone that wanted to do the big thing, so that everyone got a chance to have some fun.”

Mac was quiet for a moment, and then nodded. “I think I could live with a small party. And, if we’re able to have a larger one at Sullivan’s, I may just show up to that as well.”

Grins broke out on everyone’s faces. “Awesome!” Aiden said. “So, can we start telling people?”

Mac nodded. “See if you can get volunteers to set up the break room and bring food, too. They can start decorating day before the party. And I’m assuming you want this party on Halloween?”

“Yeah,” Lindsay said.

“Then go start getting it set up,” Mac said, a small grin breaking onto his face. Everyone started to file out of the room, but Mac spoke up again. “Danny…stick around for a minute?”

Danny went back to the desk. “Yeah, Mac?”

“Do you have the problem you had yesterday sorted out?” he asked with a grin.

“You could say so, yeah. No more chick fights in the locker room over me, I can tell you that much.”

Mac’s grin got wider. “How did it all get sorted out?”

“Third party intervened on my behalf.”

“Stella?”

He shook his head. “No, Maka. And neither Aiden or Lindsay wants to mess with _her_.”

“I figured if Stella didn’t step in Maka would. She seems to like you a lot.”

“It was that obvious to everyone but me, apparently.”

Mac laughed. “At least you caught on. Now go. Tell everyone about this party so I can get some peace and quiet.”

“On it,” he said with a grin and a nod before heading out of Mac’s office. Mac leaned back in his chair and watched the door. Peace and quiet…this would be a very good thing.

\--

The Halloween party at the labs was going well. They’d gotten permission from the proprietors of Sullivan’s to have a larger Halloween party there. In fact, there had been flyers printed up and sent to the local precincts and the labs that Sullivan’s was going to have a costume party, and a lot of people had opted to show up for that rather than the small party at the labs. Still, it wasn’t empty in the break room when Flack and Aiden strolled in.

“Brought more soda,” Flack said, holding up two big bottles of Coke.

Aiden set down a package of twenty four cupcakes. “And some more food. We never should have told Adam and Chad to eat as much as they wanted.”

Stella grinned as she looked at Adam and Chad eating their fourth cupcake each. “Yeah, we’ll have to remember this for next year. Or for Christmas.”

“Oh, a Christmas party!” Lindsay said, her head snapping up from conversation with Marty. “Think we could have one of those, Mac?”

“Let’s see how Halloween goes first,” he said, taking a sip of the punch Stella had given him earlier. “And don’t ambush me for a Christmas party.”

“Consider this me asking two months in advance,” Lindsay said.

“Noted,” he replied with a grin. “You know, Stell, this really isn’t that bad.”

“The party or the punch?” she asked with a smirk.

“The party. I’m not really a punch person.” He looked around the crowded break room. It looked as though everyone was taking a break from work to be there. He saw clusters of people together, talking and being generally happy with how the party was going. “Thank you for suggesting this.”

“You’re welcome. It’s a good morale booster, isn’t it?” she said, moving closer to him.

“Yes, it is,” he said. “About tonight, though?”

“Yes?” she asked.

“What costume are you going to be wearing?” he asked with a slightly sly smile.

“Mac Taylor, I _told_ you it’s going to be a surprise,” she said with a laugh. “So I’m not going to tell you, even if you beg.”

“You already know what I’m going as,” he said.

“That’s because you kept a spare pair of cammies after your stint in the military,” she said, rolling her eyes slightly. “I suppose you’re happy they still fit.”

“It did make planning a costume to wear to the big party much easier,” he said.

She looked at him and then chuckled. “I’m sure it did. Now the question becomes, do you still look good in them?”

“You’ll just have to tell me tonight,” he said, leaning in a little more.

She laughed louder this time, and put her free hand over his, squeezing it gently. “I will.”

“Oh come on, tell me there’s stuff left for us,” Danny said from the doorway, carrying two bags filled with food, while Maka came behind him with a bottle of soda and another bag.

“It’s what you get for coming in a half hour late,” Aiden said in his direction.

“There’s food,” Stella said. “What did you bring?”

“Two bags of chips, three kinds of dip, and more cupcakes,” he said, setting it down on one of the tables.

“Dip?” Lindsay asked. “It’s what my chips have been missing.”

“There’s also a veggie platter for anyone that wants something healthier,” Maka said. “So save some of the dips for that.”

“Oh, someone was smart and brought healthy food,” Stella said, pulling away from Mac. “I’m going to get some.”

Danny and Maka moved out of the way as a group of people homed in on the food. Danny went over to where Aiden’s cupcakes were and grabbed one, taking a bite. “Oh God, this is good,” he said.

“Got it from that bakery near my place,” Aiden said. “The one you like the bagels from?”

“I think I’m going to stop off there and pick up a dozen cupcakes before I head home tonight.”

“Aren’t you going to the party?” Stella asked.

He slid a look at Maka, who grinned. “Later. Taking Kaile’s cousin trick or treating in my neighborhood first.”

“There’s not a lot of people who celebrate Halloween around where she lives,” Maka explained. “So we’re picking her up in an hour and heading to Danny’s place so she can go trick or treating and hit the Halloween carnival in the neighborhood.”

“Aww, that’s sweet, Danny,” Aiden said. “You dressing up for it?”

He nodded. “Soon as we drop her back off we’ll head over and join you guys.” He looked at his watch. “Right now, though, we need to go talk to a suspect.”

“Seriously?” Lindsay said. “Can’t it wait a little bit?”

Maka shook her head. “We want to corner her the minute she gets home from work. Catch her unexpectedly, you know?”

“Well, we’ll save some cupcakes and stuff for you for tonight,” Stella said.

“Just give me two or three of Aiden’s cupcakes and I’ll be happy,” Danny said.

“Take them with you,” Aiden said, moving back over to her food and handing him two cupcakes. “And I’ll bring in a dozen for you tomorrow. Won’t be Halloween themed, but they’ll still be good.”

“You’re too good to me, you know that?” he said, taking a bite of one of the cupcakes. “See you guys later!”

“Bye!” a few people called out as Maka and Danny headed back out of the break room.

Lindsay looked around for a moment, then looked at her watch. “Speaking of leaving, I need to go now. Remember, Mac? You said I could leave early today.”

Mac nodded. “Will you be going to the party tonight?”

“Probably,” she said with a nod. “I just don’t have a costume.”

“Come anyway,” Marty said. “If nothing else I could see about finding you a pair of scrubs and you could wear those.”

She grinned at him. “You sure?”

He nodded. “We can head down to the morgue locker room and see if there’s anything in your size.”

“I guess I can put off leaving a little longer,” she said with a nod, getting up. “Thanks, Marty.”

“No problem,” he said, getting up as well. Lindsay waved to everyone and the two of them left.

“Those two make a very cute couple,” Stella said to Mac when she returned with some veggies and dip. 

“Don’t try matchmaking,” Mac said with a laugh.

“To be honest, I don’t think they’d actually need it. I think they’re doing very nicely on their own.” She dipped a carrot stick into her dip and took a bite. “Looks like there’s a lot of new couples around,” she said, using the carrot to indicate Flack and Aiden, who were talking together in a corner.

“You would think it’s Valentine’s Day instead of Halloween,” Mac observed, drinking the last of his punch. “Hopefully it doesn’t create any problems.”

“Us dating didn’t create any problems,” she pointed out.

“Yes, but we’re more mature than them,” he said with a grin.

She laughed. “I think you might be right.”

He grinned at her, and then looked down at his empty cup. “I still have paperwork to finish. I’ll see you at Sullivan’s tonight at eight, right?”

“If you get there at eight. I told the owner I’d help decorate, remember? I’ll be there at six thirty.”

“I should be there earlier than eight, then,” he said with a nod. “See you later.”

“See ya,” she said, watching him walk out of the break room, a smile on her face. So far, this was shaping up to be a very good night.

\--

At eight the party was in full swing. Everyone from the labs and the local precincts showed up in costume. Lindsay had gotten a set of scrubs from the morgue and Marty had showed up as one of the Men In Black. Aiden was a 1920’s flapper and Flack was an old school gangster. Mac had indeed showed up as a Marine, and he’d been floored when he saw Stella dressed up as the goddess Athena. Adam and Chad both showed up as werewolves, and Hawkes had showed up as a zombie. And when Danny and Maka walked through the door, everyone was surprised. “Bond. James Bond,” Danny said.

Maka smiled. “And I’m a Bond girl,” she said, showing off the dress she was wearing with a thigh high slit.

“Okay, wow,” Flack said. “I didn’t know you two could dress up so nice. And where did you get a tux on such short notice, Danny?”

“Paid an arm and a leg to rent one,” he said.

“Really?” Aiden asked. “All for a Halloween party?”

He grinned. “No. Only cost $100 for everything.” He looked over at Maka. “Was worth it, though.”

“No kidding,” Hawkes said. “Wow. You both look great.”

“You don’t look bad yourself,” Maka said. “You do all that make-up yourself?”

He shook his head. “Neighbor of mine helped me out.”

“Turned out pretty good,” Aiden said. “I’d be afraid of you if I was a kid and you were handing out candy.”

Hawkes laughed. “Good thing I wasn’t handing out candy this year, then.”

“Hey, Mac, no fair dressing up as yourself as a Marine,” Danny chided. Mac looked confused for a second and then Danny pointed to his chest. “Your name’s on the outfit.”

“It was either this or no costume at all,” he said.

“ _I_ think he looks just fine,” Stella said, putting an arm around his waist.

“You’re biased,” Flack pointed out, and everyone laughed.

“I know. I’m special that way.”

“You know what?” Danny said. “Let me get me and Kaile a drink and then we should have a toast.” He turned to Maka. “Jack?”

She nodded. “Jack.”

He got two shots of Jack Daniels from the bartender and handed her one. Then he raised his shot glass up, and everyone else raised their assorted glasses. “To Mac, for agreeing to let us have the party this afternoon, and to Stella for suggesting we try and have a bigger one here.”

“To Mac and Stella!” everyone cheered. There was clinking of glasses and then everyone took a drink. They all dispersed at that point, going off in pairs or groups, leaving Mac and Stella sitting at the bar.

“You feel like getting out of here?” Stella said to him.

“We haven’t been here all that long,” he pointed out.

“I know. But I still haven’t properly thanked you for letting us have that party this afternoon.”

He raised an eyebrow slightly. “I’m getting a treat, then?”

“Yeah,” she said with a grin. “You’re getting a treat.”

He grinned back and stood up, offering her his hand. She stood up as well and took his hand in hers as they moved towards the door. Tonight was definitely a good night,” Mac thought to himself. One of the best Halloween’s he’d ever had, if he was honest with himself. And if Stella had her way, and he was inclined to _let_ her have her way, it only looked to get better.


End file.
